Seafood Handbook: The Comprehensive Guide to Sourcing, Buying and Preparation

In working with seafood over the years I have always been amazed me at the countless varieties of seafood that are available to a chef. As a chef I often found it a daunting task to try and stay informed about all of the different varieties of seafood. If you have ever found yourself in a similar situation then let The Seafood Handbook (professional edition) published by Seafood Business be your guide. 
Loaded with great information The Seafood Handbook is an excellent resource for any chef. Covering a wide array of topics, the spiral bound book is broken up into three main sections harvesting and processing, finfish and shellfish, and safety and preparation. 

Section one does an excellent job of covering various topics of harvesting and processing as they relate to the seafood industry. Here you will find in-depth coverage of such topics as harvesting, distribution channels, finfish product forms, frozen seafood, value added products, and more. 

In section two you find the heart of The Seafood Handbook. Divided into two sub-sections (finfish species and shellfish species), section two covers over 70 different varieties of fin and shellfish. As you make your way through the different varieties of fish, you find that The Seafood Handbook does a beautiful job of laying out important information for each fish species. Following a similar format for each fish, The Handbook includes full color illustrations, scientific name, market name, common names, product profiles, seasonal availability, nutritional facts, global supply charts, primary product forms, and even cooking tips. The coverage of each fish is exceptional, and I found this to be a superb reference guide for any chef. 

The handbook finishes up with an entire section devoted to the topics of safety and preparation. In particular, I found the safety section to be very informative. Covering many common hazards of working with seafood, the safety section teaches you about: bacteria, pollution, shellfish toxins, finfish toxins, parasites, and seafood-borne illness. After a complete description of each hazard you also learn how to safeguard against each of them. 

In addition, The Seafood Handbook also comes with a CD ROM version for your PC. Complete with a search engine, you can browse the entire Handbook via your Netscape web browser. Don't worry if you don't have Netscape, the CD comes with a version of Netscape that is a snap to install. As an avid computer user I found this be a great tool. Anytime I need information on a certain fish, I can just bring up my web browser, type the fish name into the search box, and instantly have the information I need. 

It is obvious that Seafood Business put a lot of thought into The Seafood Handbook to make it a useful resource for food professionals. There is no doubt in my mind that any food professional would find this a worthwhile investment for their kitchen.